'Well where the hell is he?' Lady looked back down at her phone as she kept walking. She looked to her right; through the trees she saw a long blue coat lying on the ground. "Vergil?" She said and ran to him. "Vergil", she flipped him over to face her and he moaned. "Dante?" She looked around again, doing a quick scan around her perimeter. She looked at Dante and tried to rouse him again. Lady noticed the tightly woven hilt of a sword nestled in the crook of his arm. 'Oh God. This isn't good…dammit.' "Dante, Dante wake up!" She shook him slightly, slapping his face a couple times when he didn't respond. "Dante, wake up. Where's Vergil?"
He opened his eyes..."Lady?" He gave her a confused look.
"Dante, where is Vergil?"
'Why does she sound so upset? He's standing over-' He looked to the spot where his brother had been standing. Catching the bright color of the elder's jacket out of the corner of his eye, he looked down at himself. 'Was I cold? Why would he leave his jacket?' As he tried to get his head around what had happened he noticed a warm pulsing energy along his right side. When he shifted his gaze down he saw his brothers sword. It all came back to him in a rush. He leapt up suddenly; nearly falling back down on his ass. Lady grabbed a hold of him to steady him. "Whoa, calm down. Do you remember what happened?"
'…Don't ever question my love for you...'
"He's gone Lady! He's fucking gone!" He looked around wildly, trying to find a trace of them. Dante growled and gripped his hair "Vergil!" he screamed.
"Calm down, what happened?" Lady started.
"Calm down? How the fuck am I supposed to calm down? That bastard came and took him." He waved his arms around screaming. "I promised him I wouldn't let that happen! I promised I would keep him safe. What am I going to do now? It took me years to find him before. " He said crest fallen.
Lady looked down at the ground, down at Vergil's belongings. And thought back to how she found Dante. It looked as though someone had covered him up with care. She bent down and ran her fingers over Yamato's sheath. She knew the elder would not disarm himself unless he had a reason to. 'Oh Vergil, what did you do?' She picked it up gently, along with the coat. "Dante is it possible he left to protect you?" she said softy.
He turned a cold, hard glare to her. "Are you saying he abandoned me? That he ran away, leaving me defenseless?" Irony had it that he was left with the arsenal of a small army and far from defenseless, but now was not the time for Lady to point that out.
"No Dante, that's not what I meant at all. What I'm saying is, do you think that Vergil left with that demon because your life was in danger? That he traded himself for your safety?" Dante took a minute to consider this. "Why else would he leave Yamato and send me your location?"
As the realization of what his brother had sacrificed for him set in, Dante fell to his knees. Tears welled in his eyes and threatened to spill over. He looked up at Lady like a lost child.
"Hey, hey. We'll get him back." She knelt beside him and pulled him into a tight hug. "It will be okay. We just have to do a little digging to find this prick again. Now that we know who we're looking for, it will be easier." She brushed his hair out of his eyes.
Still looking lost but not as hopeless, "But will he still be there when we find him?"
She didn't know how to answer that one. Lady knew what had happened to Vergil at the hands of that demon the first time. She could only imagine what he would go through a second.
"What is that for?" Vergil asked as he watched Victor warily.
Victor walked over to where Vergil had been chained to the wall. His hands had been bound in front of him. "Lets just say I have trust issues." Victor said lazily. He reached up and hooked a collar around Vergil's neck.
"I gave you my word I would not escape. Is that not good enough?" The collar conformed to his neck like a second skin. It tingled slightly but was not uncomfortable.
"Please do forgive me if I don't take the word of a Sparda." Victor hissed as he undid the shackles. "There, you wont be needing these anymore." Vergil's hands shook nervously. When will you stop trembling whenever I touch you?" The demon ran his thumb across his pale lower lip.
"When have you given me a reason to believe that your touch does not inflict pain?" he said quietly.
Victor lowered his hand. "Touché. The collar will allow you free access around the compound. Leave these walls and you will die. I expect you to be obedient and treat me with the respect fitting of a demon lord. Are we understood?"
Vergil rubbed at his wrists. "So you expect me to be your lap dog."
The raven haired demon lifted a brow. "Precisely. Do not take my generosity for granted my pet. I could easily have you back in that dungeon, passing you around to any demon that would have you. Or have you forgotten?"
Vergil lowed his head, "No, I have not forgotten." 'Nor will I ever.'
"Good, then let us get some rest, shall we? Its been a long day." Victor let a lecherous grin play across his lips and let the eldest son of Sparda to their chambers.